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February 26, 2010

I am always in awe of the cross-country skiers at the Winter Olympics; how fast those men and women negotiate the 5K, 10K, 30K, and even 50K courses, propelling themselves by legs and arms over uneven terrain in the cold, sometimes winning or losing by mere inches, and expending every last ounce of energy as they crumble exhausted to the snow after crossing the finish line. Various measures like VO2 Max have confirmed they are the fittest athletes.

Every time I watch cross-country skiers on TV, I'm reminded of a wonderful gesture by one of those Nordic giants. At the Nagano Winter Olympics, Norway’s Bjorn Daehlie won the 10K cross-country skiing event for the sixth gold medal of his illustrious career. In that same race, Kenya’s Phillip Boit finished last in his country’s Winter Olympics debut, taking nearly twice as long as the winner to navigate the course. But when Boit bravely crossed the finish line in 93rd place, Daehlie was waiting there in the cold to offer a hand and a hug. “I told him I was very impressed that he finished,” said the Olympic superstar. “It’s good for people from other nations to compete.” Thus began the start of a long friendship between the two. Boit even named one of his sons after the Norwegian legend.

I still have yet to try cross-country skiing; typically we don't receive enough snow to keep up a good trail. Except for this winter. We are getting hammered by another heavy dose of the white stuff. Even before this current storm, our Philadelphia region had recorded more snow this winter than Maine and even Buffalo, New York. Many more days like this and I'll have to seriously consder purchasing some cross-country skies. Is it hard to learn? Otherwise I could always think about going out West or up to a Vermont resort where they have miles of groomed trails and beginner's classes. For now, with all this snow, it looks like more treadmill running and indoor track workouts for me in the foreseeable future!

February 23, 2010

Good news received that Brian Sell, a member of the 2008 U.S. Olympic Marathon team, will write the foreword to my book, Long May You Run. Brian will recall how many of his life's best memories came when he was out running, and will draw parallels to those memories with various topics in the book.

Sadly, Brian's competitve running career may soon be over due to responsiblities of two young children, a job, and a mortgage. He says, however, that he will never lose his passion for running, even if it's just a four miler around the neighborhood. My book is due to be published in November.

February 18, 2010

With the 24+ inches of snow on the ground, and no respite from the cold temperatures, the white stuff is going to stay around for awhile. Therefore, I've found it safer to run at my local YMCA instead of along the roads in my neighborhood. Snow plows barely clear enough for cars to negotiate the road as it is. Having to watch those cars and icy patches, and knowing there is a two-foot barrier of ice and snow on the shoulder of the road to jump over if a car gets too close, well, I don't mind running at the Y at all. I just alternate a few miles on the treadmill and a few on the indoor track to deal with the monotony.

Here is a picture of my driveway. The roads beyond don't look much different. Looks like I'll be running indoors for the foreseeable future.

February 15, 2010

A recent study by the Stanford University School of Medicine concluded that regular running increases longevity while decreasing disabilities common with old age. In “Reduced Disability and Mortality Among Aging Runners,” Stanford researchers followed 538 runners and a control group of 423 healthy non-runners for 21 years. Subjects were aged 50 and above at the start of the research and, consequently, were in their 70s and 80s when the study ended.

Findings appeared in a 2008 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine and showed that elderly runners presented with significantly fewer disabilities and were half as likely as non-runners to die early. Their conclusion: “Vigorous exercise (running) at middle and older ages is associated with reduced disability in later life and a notable survival advantage.”

Another Stanford study looked at a group of aging runners and found that years of running had not damaged their joints or left them less able to exercise. Runners in their 70’s, 80’s, and above, therefore, have no reason to hang up their running shoes, as long as they remain free of illness or serious injury.

February 09, 2010

“Youdon’t stop running because you get old. You get old because you stop running.”

- Common runner’s saying

In the book, "Running Until You’re 100," author and Olympian Jeff Galloway cites research on running’s positive effect on the aging process. He writes that “significant exertion each week can extend the length of your life. The increased endurance and physical capacity gained from years of running results in a more active lifestyle to the end of your days.” No reason to stop now.

Indeed, a 2009 study by a team of German scientists sheds light on running’s anti-aging effect on cells. (Thanks to a University of Pennsylvania medical student and reader of this blog for sending me this information.) In “Beneficial Effects of Long-term Endurance Exercise on Leukocyte Telomere Biology,” the team measured reliable markers of cell age called telomeres in the research subjects. (without being too technical, telomeres are specialized extensions of DNA molecules that protect the ends of a chromosome from damage. Generally, telomeres are longer in length in younger individuals and gradually shorten as one ages, diminishing their effectiveness.)

In the study, measurements from a group of middle-aged runners (51 years old, on average) with a long history of running were compared to those of age-matched, physically inactive but healthy subjects. Results indicated a remarkably reduced rate of telomere shortening among the long-time runners vs. the physically inactive group.

Their conclusion: “These findings improve the molecular understanding of beneficial vascular effects of physical activity and implicate an ‘anti-aging’ effect of physical exercise.” In other words, keep on running!

February 06, 2010

As I write this, the heavy snow continues and shows no signs of stopping anytime soon. The TV talking heads say this snow storm already ranks 7th all-time in terms of accumulation in this part of southeastern Pennsylvania, and there is still plenty to come! Although I wrote several weeks ago about the joys of running in the snow, running today and maybe tomorrow is, unfortunately, not an option. I am not able to drive to the indoor track at the YMCA. The snow is so deep that I can’t see the outline of where my driveway begins and ends. And I don’t own a treadmill. Rest, however, will do me good.

Many of us runners are probably not getting as much of it as we should, even though rest is an essential part of any training program. When discussing training regimens in his book, The Complete Book of Running, Jim Fixx writes that “You’re asking your body to do things it’s never been called upon to do -- at least not for a long time -- and it responds by obligingly restructuring itself to make its various parts more efficient.” That is, exercise stresses the muscles and stimulates them to grow stronger. But in order for your body to make repairs and grow stronger, it needs adequate rest.

Running author and Olympian Jeff Galloway believes the “R” word is the most important training principle. “Without enough rest after the stress,” he says in Marathon: you can do it! “the muscles are driven to exhaustion or injury. Stress must be balanced by rest in sufficient quantity and quality for adequate growth.” Therefore, our bodies sometimes need days, not hours, to repair stress-related damage to the cells so they will be able to handle the next hard effort. With adequate rest, improved performance will be the result.

With all the miles Ultra running superstar Scott Jurek puts in, you’d think he has little, if any, time to rest. Think again. As he writes on his blog, the 7-time winner of the Western States 100-Mile Endurance Run says, “I’ve always taken 4 – 6 weeks off at the end of every race season to let my muscles and mind mend from the long months of hard racing and training. I truly believe this recovery period has been instrumental in enabling me to churn out top race results year after year.” Right now as I gaze out at the accumulating snow, that's a pretty good philosophy to have!

February 01, 2010

Two-time World Cross-Country Champion, Craig Virgin (pictured above), who was also a 3-time Olympian in the 10,000 meters, is one of the elite runners who contributed recommendations and running tips to my book. In fact, when I asked him to provide a running tip for runners of all abilities, he came up with several, all very good ones. One of those tips, however, stands out from the rest. I have to confess it is a tip I never heard or read anywhere before . . . but it must have worked:

“It’s okay (and maybe good) to go out and go dancing and “moderate” drinking two nights before a big race, just to get stretched out and loosened up from a hard week of training. I used to do 2 white Russians...and a couple hours of dancing on Thursday nights....before a big race on Saturday!”